On Jan. 31, Tech’s campus pulsed with the energy of tradition and renewal as students gathered to celebrate Lunar New Year. The holiday, observed by millions worldwide, is more than a date on the calendar — it is a passage, a reminder that time does not simply march forward but folds over itself in cycles. This year, the cycle ushered in the Year of the Snake, a symbol of intelligence, transformation and resilience.
At the Exhibition Hall, the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) hosted an early evening celebration where students tried their hands at Chinese calligraphy, savoring the careful brushstrokes that have carried meaning for centuries. They played traditional games, tasted symbolic dishes and, perhaps without realizing it, engaged in something essential: the act of learning through experience. For those unfamiliar with Lunar New Year customs, the event was an invitation to step into a history that, while not their own, was generously shared.
Later, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) filled the Ferst Center for the Arts with music, movement and a sense of home. Their Spring Festival Gala unfolded in a series of performances — from crosstalk comedy to intricate dance routines — each one a thread in the fabric of cultural storytelling. The night’s performances were steeped in tradition, from comedic crosstalk to elegantly choreographed dances. As the event concluded, attendees received complimentary milk tea, a gesture that rounded out the evening with a taste of familiarity and comfort.
Lunar New Year is not a holiday of nostalgia; it is one of renewal. Rooted in the lunisolar calendar, it follows the cycles of the moon, marking a time to honor ancestors, cast out misfortune, and welcome prosperity. It is a moment of transition when red envelopes, carrying gifts of money, change hands, and homes are adorned with banners of calligraphed blessings. The Year of the Snake, characterized by wisdom and calculated action, aligns fittingly with Tech students, who understand the weight of strategy, the necessity of adaptation and the quiet resilience it takes to move forward. The snake, in Chinese mythology, is neither villain nor victim — it is a creature of intellect, patience, and stealth. Those born under its sign are said to possess a keen analytical mind, qualities that feel at home at Tech, where innovation thrives in the shadows of deep thinking and quiet problem-solving.
Multicultural events like these are more than celebrations; they are acts of recognition. At Tech, where innovation is paramount, it is easy to believe that progress is built only on new ideas. But culture, history and tradition remind us that the past is not something to be discarded — it is something to be understood. In acknowledging the Lunar New Year, Tech recognizes that progress does not happen in isolation. It happens in dialogue, in shared experiences, in moments where history and future collide in a room filled with music, laughter and the scent of something familiar.
As students filtered out of the Ferst Center, the night lingered — not just in memory, but in something deeper. For some, it was a reminder of home, of family celebrations an ocean away. For others, it was a newfound appreciation for a tradition they had only known from the periphery. And for all, it was a testament to the ways in which Tech does not simply house a diverse student body but allows its cultures to breathe and be seen.
For those who attended, the night was not just about spectacle but about connection. And as the Year of the Snake unfolds, perhaps its greatest lesson is this: transformation is never abrupt. It is a slow, deliberate process, one that values both the past and the future, understanding that one cannot exist without the other. And in that understanding, there is something powerful — a recognition that the strongest bridges are built not just between disciplines and innovations but between people, between cultures, between histories that, at first glance, may seem separate but, upon closer look, are intertwined.